There are about 3753 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Hong Kong. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
Tuberculous pleuritis (TBP) is the most common manifestation of extrapulmonary TB. Its diagnosis is challenging due to the low sensitivity of mycobacterial culture from the pleural fluid and the need for invasive pleural biopsy. Preliminary data has shown the superior sensitivity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell-free DNA (MTB cfDNA) to conventional culture and MTB polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but the cutoff level of MTB cfDNA was not determined. This study involves a prospective collection of pleural fluid due to TBP and non-TBP aetiologies, with subsequent testing by MTB culture, MTB cfDNA and MTB PCR. The levels of MTB cfDNA in the pleural fluid will be correlated with different types of diagnosis, and its diagnostic accuracy will be compared with conventional culture and MTB PCR. A confirmatory study result of MTB cfDNA can shorten the time to diagnosis, reduce the need for pleural biopsy and prevent the delay of definitive treatment.
Pneumothorax can be fatal if treatment is delayed or the pneumothorax is refractory. However, the mortality rates and their risk factors were mainly reported from retrospective studies, and local data regarding the mortality of spontaneous pneumothorax is scarce. This study aims at evaluating the in-hospital mortality and relevant clinical outcomes of spontaneous pneumothorax and identifying their predictive factors. The data collected from this study will also guide the planning of subsequent research to overcome the knowledge and service gap in managing spontaneous pneumothorax.
The trial aims to evaluate the effects of an integrated form of mindfulness-based Tai Chi Chuan (MBTCC) program and the underlying mechanisms of the beneficial effects on sleep disturbance over 12-month follow-up in community-dwelling elderly people.
Amblyopia is a developmental anomaly resulting from abnormal visual experiences in early life. Amblyopia causes reduced visual acuity in the absence of a pathology. Adult sensory systems are believed to be structurally invariant beyond early, critical periods of development. However, recent evidence suggest that visual functions in adults with amblyopia can be improved with optical correction alone. This study aims to investigate whether improvements in best corrected visual acuity and other visual functions can result following appropriate optical correction in adults with amblyopia. Functional measures relating to vision, binocular vision, and eye movements will be used to assess the efficacy of refractive correction for improving vision. This study will help us better understand the improvements in visual functions following optical correction, as well as the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity in adults with amblyopia.
Common mental disorders can be disabling and lead to a large burden of disease. Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders was developed to address emotional disorders with evidence-based emotional-focused cognitive-behavioural techniques and is efficacious in reducing anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms in adults. Previous research has demonstrated comparable effect of UP on reducing anxiety symptoms compared with the single-disorder protocol (SDP) for anxiety. Group-based UP was also implemented and tested. Given the fact that working populations are at a high risk of poor mental health, especially in light of the COVID pandemic with new unprecedented work situations and increased uncertainties, the present study aims to investigate the efficacy of Unified protocol on sleep and mental health in high-risk population.
Objective: To identify known and unknown bacterial pathogens in patients with pleural infections using a combination of conventional culture and next-generation sequencing approaches. Hypothesis to be tested: The investigators hypothesize that next-generation sequencing will serve as a comprehensive approach to identify culturable and unculturable bacterial pathogens in patients with pleural infections compared to the conventional culture. Design and subjects: This is a prospective cohort study to be conducted in the medical department of a tertiary care hospital in Hong Kong involving patients with pleural infection. Patients will be recruited if a pleural infection is suspected, with pleural fluid sampled and a 6-month follow-up. The clinical management by the medical team will not be interfered. Study instruments: Pleural fluid will be collected for conventional culture, 16S amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing in parallel. The clinical information will be collected to clarify the causative correlation between symptoms, clinical outcomes and pathogen infections. Main outcome measures: The full spectrum of causative bacteria in pleural infection will be characterized. The diagnostic performance of identifying causative bacteria in pleural infection will be compared between the studied methods. The antimicrobial resistance pattern, clinical outcomes of pleural infection will also be compared between groups as categorized by the pattern of bacteriology identified by different methods. Data analysis: With reference to the conventional culture as the gold standard, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values and negative predictive values of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing will be calculated.
This study is researching an experimental drug called garetosmab. The study is focused on adult patients with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). The aim of the study is to see how safe and effective the study drug is in patients with FOP. The study is looking at several other research questions, including: - What side effects may happen from receiving the study drug - How much study drug is in your blood at different times - Whether the body makes antibodies against the study drug (which could make the drug less effective or could lead to side effects)
This is a comparative study for adult participants with cancer who are suspected to have neutropenic fever (or fever with low neutrophil count) in emergency department. Neutrophil is a kind of defensive white blood cell combating against infection, especially by bacteria and fungi. Low neutrophil can be part of the disease progress or secondary to some cancer treatment. These participants are at high risk of developing infection-related complications including death. Currently a dedicated clinical pathway has been in place in emergency department for suspected neutropenic fever, which offers fast-track medical consultation, blood tests and a very strong antibiotic (meropenem) as the first choice within 1 hour of registration. However, majority of such participants' neutrophil counts are not low. Most of them have no bacterial infection in the body, and have unremarkable short hospital stays. Early administration of meropenem in the majority of cases may be unnecessary and imposes risk of developing antibiotic resistance. This study attempts to answer the question, "In adult participants with cancer presenting to emergency department with suspected neutropenic fever, when compared with conventional treatment, can a new protocol guided by fast-track neutrophil count reduces prescription of meropenem?" Agreed participants will be randomly assigned to the conventional treatment group, or the new treatment group. For those who are assigned to the new treatment group, blood will be taken and sent to the hospital laboratory for urgent analysis of neutrophil count. Participants with proven low neutrophil counts will still receive meropenem, while those without low neutrophil counts will receive less strong antibiotic according to their clinical diagnoses, such as Augmentin. They will be followed up on the first 7 days, and then on the 14th, 30th, 90th, and 180th days after recruitment. Comparisons will be made to see how much less meropenem will be prescribed, and whether more serious adverse events will happen. The study is expected to take 37 months to complete. Duration of data collection, including the day of last follow up, is estimated to be 33 months.
Objective: To study whether fracture hip patients can be benefited from the empowerment program Hypothesis to be tested Primary hypothesis: empowerment program can improve the patient's functional recovery. Secondary hypothesis: the program can improve readmission rate, length of stay, and secondary fracture. Design and subjects This is a prospective randomised controlled trial and subjects are fracture hip patients Instruments Ipads are needed to show the videos of the rehabilitation program Interventions The empowerment program consists of three main areas which directly correspond to the contents that the patients and caregivers expressed as most needed in interviews conducted by the investigators during hip fracture patients' follow up: - Knowledge of the disease - Confidence and skills in self-care management - Support in the post-discharge period Main outcome measures Primary outcomes: Functional scores (Modified Barthel Index and EQ-5D-5L) at the first follow-up visit (3 months postop). Timed-up-and-go test at follow-up at 6 months and 1 year. Secondary outcome: Cumulative readmission rates at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year The length of stay in the convalescent hospital Subsequent injury with fractures within 1 year Data analysis Chi-square test is used for categorical variables. For continuous variables, the normal distribution is determined by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Independent t-test is used for comparing average values of normally distributed continuous variables, while the Wilcoxon rank sum test is used for comparing median values of abnormally distributed variables. Binary logistic regression is used to determine predictive factors for outcomes. Multivariate analysis is performed to verify independent predictive factors for outcomes. Expected results Fracture hip patients can be benefited from the empowerment program.
This project aims to develop a new dual-task stationary cycling system that can monitor and provide feedback on the aerobic exercise intensity, while administrating appropriate cognitive trainings targeting various cognitive sub domains through a screen in front of the user. The proposed system is designed to train the brain with cognitive tasks and the body with aerobic exercises at the same time. The difficulties of the cognitive tasks are controlled by the users' previous performances on these tasks so that they wouldn't be too easy nor too difficult. Similarly, the intensity of the aerobic exercise will be monitored through an optical encoder for the cycling cadence, two power meters for the force output on the two pedals, as well as a heart rate monitor for the users' physiological response. Constant feedback is being provided to the users so that they will exercise at the correct intensity to provide the greater cardiovascular and cognitive benefits.